Garlett off to the bush

Garlett off to the bush - The West Australian

Fallen Hawk Dayle Garlett will make his comeback with a remote Wheatbelt club in a bid to rediscover his love for football.

Dandaragan Football Club, 170km north of Perth, confirmed it was waiting on a final clearance from Swan Districts to allow Garlett to play for them in the Central Midlands Coastal league this month.

Garlett is expected to line up in the club's opening fixture for the season on Anzac Day.

It will complete a remarkable fall from grace for the talented forward, who was on Hawthorn's list until seven days ago when he told the AFL premiers he would be quitting the club.

The 20-year-old is understood to have accepted the offer to play with Dandaragan on Saturday, less than 24 hours after Swans officials told their former star that he was not part of their plans for 2014.

An official clearance request was lodged by the country club on Sunday night. AFL Victoria had already ticked off on the paperwork yesterday.

Dandaragan coach Mat Helms said he had approached the de-listed Hawk through Garlett's cousin Shannon Stack, who had already signed up with the club for the season.

He confirmed the move to the country was not about money.

Garlett will be paid less than $800 a game - a far cry from an AFL salary in excess of the minimum rookie wage of $54,000.

"We wanted to put the option on the table that if he wanted to come back out to the country and just start enjoying his footy and feel there was no pressure on him to perform at that higher level that we'd be more than happy to have him on board," Helms said.

"I've been speaking to him and he's just keen to come out for a run, clear his head and start enjoying his footy again and play with his cousin.

"We appreciate the calibre of a player like him on board.

"My target for him is to come back, start enjoying his footy and then obviously I want to see him go back through the WAFL.

"Hopefully we can light his spark again and get him back on that journey that he should be chasing again after having a year off."

Garlett will still play against some handy footballers, with retired WAFL duo Brent LeCras and Callum Chambers among those competing in the Central Midlands Coastal league.

There are only five teams in the small competition, with Dandaragan finishing third last season.

Garlett walked out on Hawthorn after failing to stick to the club's disciplines, with Hawks officials understood to have been frustrated over the youngster's partying behaviour and social media habits.

But Helms said the footballer remained a "good young kid".

"Obviously at a higher level, you get scrutinised a lot more than you do at a country level," he said. "I'm sure he'll be fine and that he'll do exactly what we want him to do. Hopefully he starts playing some good football and gets his career back on track."

" he's just keen to come out for a run, clear his head and start enjoying his footy again ""Dandaragan coach *Mat Helms *